Public Radio for the Central Kenai Peninsula
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Support public radio — donate today!

Troopers facing assault charges to go to trial next summer

From left, Jason Woodruff, Clint Campion, Joseph Miller and Matthew Widmer participate in an arraignment hearing on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024 in Kenai, Alaska.
Ashlyn O'Hara
/
KDLL
From left, Jason Woodruff, Clint Campion, Joseph Miller and Matthew Widmer participate in an arraignment hearing on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024 in Kenai, Alaska.

Two Alaska State Troopers each facing a felony assault charge will go to trial next June in Kenai. That’s following a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday at the Kenai Courthouse.

Attorneys representing the two troopers and the state estimate they’ll need at least two weeks for a trial, including jury selection. Exact dates may change depending on expert availability. It’s currently scheduled for June 9 through 20.

In August, the state charged Trooper Sgt. Joseph Miller Jr. and Jason Woodruff with assault over alleged conduct during their arrest of the wrong person in Kenai earlier this year. Charging documents say body-worn camera footage show Miller and Woodruff beating, tasing and g a police dog on Benjamin Tikka near Daubenspeck Park. The documents say troopers intended to arrest Tikka's cousin, who shares the same last name, for failing to appear for a 10-day jail sentence.

Miller and Woodruff initially faced and pleaded not guilty to one charge each of misdemeanor assault. A Kenai Grand Jury later upped those charges to felony assault, to which Miller and Woodruff also pleaded not guilty.

Prior to joining KDLL's news team in May 2024, O'Hara spent nearly four years reporting for the Peninsula Clarion in Kenai. Before that, she was a freelance reporter for The New York Times, a statehouse reporter for the Columbia Missourian and a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. You can reach her at aohara@kdll.org
Related Content